


How Happy You Look

by percyspandapillowpet



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: 2 OCs but they're not really that important, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, SO MUCH FLUFF, They're adults, and engaged, if that makes any sense, it's more just the -concept- of them that matters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 03:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17737922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/percyspandapillowpet/pseuds/percyspandapillowpet
Summary: Will receives an online message from a stranger claiming to be Nico's relative from Italy.





	How Happy You Look

It all started with a toaster.

Well, not exactly. But it all started with their online wedding registry, and when Will clicked on the toaster they had added to it on Amazon to double-check that it was the one they wanted, he noticed a review someone had written and posted five days prior.

 _Hello, Mr. Nico di Angelo, if you’re reading this,_ it began below the five-star rating. _I know this is going to come across as SUPER creepy, but I’m doing this for my grandfather, so blame him._

Will clicked “see full review” and waited anxiously for the page to load. Once it did, he zoomed in to make sure his eyes weren’t fooling him.

_My name is Marco. We have the same last name. If my English is not the greatest, I apologize. My grandfather—his name is Francesco—has been searching for his long-lost cousin for a really long time now. He says he grew up with this boy around his age named Nico who had a mother named Maria, who was his father’s sister. He told me that one day Nico moved to Washington in the United States with his mother and his older sister._

Will’s breath hitched. _No way. This has to be a coincidence._

_He says that they wrote letters to each other for a while—he still has the letters, actually—but then Nico stopped writing, and he never heard from him, his sister, or his mother ever again. He never knew the father._

_Recently, I introduced my grandfather to the Internet. He’s hired me now to try to find you somehow, so I’ve pretty much just been Googling your name for the past few weeks and commenting this exact same post on every website and profile I can find. I’m sorry if you have a Facebook or blog or anything and have seen this on there, too. You’re probably not even the real Nico di Angelo—to be honest, my grandfather isn’t even sure that you’re still alive. And you’re probably too old to be using the Internet much. But it’s worth a shot, I guess._

_If you are the real Nico, please send me an email. Thanks._

The last line of the post was an email address.

Will covered his mouth with his hands—which was fine, because he wasn’t breathing, anyway. This was…Nico’s family. His cousin’s grandson. That must have meant there were others, too—an entire group of relatives in Italy who had no idea he existed.

He was about to call Nico’s name, but then he remembered he was alone in their apartment—Nico had left to buy groceries just a few minutes prior. It would have to wait, then. But in the meantime…

Will clicked the email address and began to type.

 _Hello, Marco,_ he began. _I saw your message underneath the toaster on Amazon connected to my wedding registry. I’m not Nico, but I am his fiancé—and I can confirm that you have found the right person. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to prove that to you and your grandfather._

He signed his name at the bottom and clicked send.

***

The door opened with a bang, which meant Nico had full hands and had kicked it.

His voice confirmed Will’s theory. “A little help, please!”

Will rose from his place at the kitchen table and rushed out to take some grocery bags from Nico’s hands. Nico smiled with appreciation and followed him back into the kitchen.

Normally, Will wouldn’t want to leave best-kept-cold food items out on the counter, but this was a special occasion. He grabbed Nico by the wrist and pulled him over to the table, where his laptop was open.

“You have to see this.”

“What?”

He directed him to sit in the chair while he leaned onto his shoulder, reached over, and clicked on the tab with the toaster.

“A toaster? Will, we already discussed this a few days ago—”

“No,” he interrupted. He scrolled back down to the reviews section. “Look.”

He kept his forearms on Nico’s shoulders and chin on the top of his head as he read, attempting to gauge his reaction by his faint reflection in the screen.

As he scanned the message, Nico’s hand fell from the table and hung limp beside him. “This is…”

“I know,” Will murmured.

He then stood and faced Will. His eyes were wet, his mouth stuck open like a fish’s. “This is…crazy,” he stammered. “They—they _found_ me.”

Will pulled him close and wrapped him in a tight embrace. “I know,” he repeated. “It’s incredible.”

When Nico pulled away, there was something in his eyes that reminded Will of the day they had fought Gaea—determination, maybe. Hope.

“Did you email him?” he asked.

Will nodded and then tilted his head toward the computer. He pulled up a chair of his own and once they were sitting down, he clicked to the second tab he had opened.

“Look!” Nico exclaimed. “There’s a new one—one you haven’t opened. Is that him? It says Marco!”

Will opened it hastily, not even bothering to scroll up to show Nico his previous message. That could be done later.

“ _Dear Will_ ,” he read aloud. “ _Thank you for reaching out. I just read my grandfather your message. He’s very excited, but he agrees that you should provide some sort of proof. He said that if you can reply with the name of the sister and the street on which they both grew up, he will believe that this is the real Nico._ ” Will turned to Nico. “Do you remember?”

Nico stared at the screen for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah. _Ramo del Teatro._ We lived right by the theatre.” He clicked the reply button himself and began typing. After the name of the street, he wrote, _My sister’s name was Bianca._ He hesitated before adding, _She is no longer alive,_ but finished it quickly and signed his name at the end. He pressed send a few seconds later, and then he turned back to Will.

“Do you think he’s still with his grandfather? Will he respond right away?”

“Probably,” Will said. “His message came through just a few minutes ago, and mine was only a little while before that. They’re probably waiting for a reply.”

Nico nodded, but then he frowned. “How are they going to believe it’s me?” he asked. “I mean—age-wise. I’m supposed to be, like, eighty-five. My cousin is a grandfather of a young adult.”

That thought hadn’t crossed Will’s mind, and he immediately felt a pang of guilt hit his chest. He should have waited and asked Nico before sending that first message—he always thought of things like this.

But he must have noticed Will’s discomfort, because he took his hand and squeezed it. “Forget about it. I’ll just be honest, right? I’ll explain everything to them—and if they don’t believe it, they don’t believe it. We move on.”

Will blinked. “You think you can do that?”

He nodded. “It’s my best shot at finding my family. Of course I can.”

***

_Dear Nico,_

_Thank you so much. My grandfather is crying, but he’s smiling, too. He’s very happy to have found you. A few questions—where do you live now, and when are you getting married? Also, I don’t mean to be rude, and this is just from me, but why get married so late in your life? Just curious. No judgement. My grandfather is mad at me for asking, but I have to._

_Marco._

***

_Dear Marco,_

_I’m glad to hear he’s happy. I live in New York City. And I feel I should clear up a few things. This is going to sound really crazy, but please hear me out._

_Your grandfather might remember a time when I had a conversation with him about my father. We were about eight years old. I told him that I hardly knew my dad—he was never around, and I was told he had a very important job. Well, it turned out that my dad is actually the Greek god Hades. Yes, the actual Lord of the Underworld. I know you probably think I’m lying, but it’s the truth. The Greek gods are real, and I’m what’s called a demigod. I go on quests and have powers and stuff. It’s complicated and I don’t want you to get bogged down in details, so if we ever meet in person I will try my best to explain everything then. I’m not great with writing._

_But this part is important: I’m not old. Technically, yes, I’m around eighty-five, but physically, I’m about twenty-one. After my mother died, my sister and I were sent to live in a place where we hardly aged. If you’re familiar with Greek myths and have read about Lotus flowers, you’ll know what I’m talking about. We stayed there for about seven decades, and when we emerged, we had only physically gained a few years. Our father put us there to keep us safe._

_So, yeah, I think I’m at a pretty normal age to get married. No offense taken, though._

_Most of my memories from my childhood are lost, but I do remember your grandfather. Francesco. I think I’ll still be able to recognize his face, as long as his smile hasn’t changed. And his loud voice. He used to shout at me whenever I missed a goal when I played on his football team._

_I hope you don’t think I’m insane after reading this. I think your grandfather will understand, though. He always sort of knew there was something different about me—even before I did._

_Nico._

***

Will brought his laptop over to the couch where his fiancé was already sitting, buried in blankets and watching TV.

“Hey,” he said, pulling half of a blanket to cover his own legs. “You got a reply. Wanna see it?”

Nico sighed and let his head fall onto Will’s shoulder. “Read it to me?”

He couldn’t help smiling. “Sure.” He cleared his throat. “ _Dear Nico…_ ”

***

They messaged back and forth with Marco late into the night.

He was, of course, incredibly confused by the concept of Greek mythology actually existing, but they at least brought him past the denial phase and into the asking-lots-of-questions phase. Numerous times, Nico responded by saying that they would be better answered in person, which left Will wondering—how and when does he want to meet these people?

He voiced this question aloud as they ate breakfast the next morning.

Nico stared at his scrambled eggs. “I’m not sure, to be honest,” he replied. “I know I want to meet them—I really do.” He turned to face Will. “They’re my family,” he added more quietly.

Will nodded. “Of course. And if it’s okay…” He reached across the corner of the table to squeeze Nico’s hand. “I’d like to meet them, too.”

Nico rolled his eyes and smiled. “Of course it’s okay.” But then, after a moment, his expression fell away. “I mean—you don’t think they’d be…right?”

Will shook his head. “Care about this?” He pointed to Nico and then himself. “No. I introduced myself as your fiancé, remember? They found you through our _wedding registry._ ”

“I guess,” Nico replied, still frowning. He was silent for a little while, and Will waited patiently. “Do you think—” he finally said, “do you think they would’ve been okay with it—back then?” He drummed his free fingers against the table and shifted in his seat. “Like—when I was a kid? If I had grown up with them however many decades ago?”

Will could lie in an attempt to make him happy, but he knew that he wanted to hear the truth. He _deserved_ the truth.

“I don’t know,” he began. “I really don’t. It’s…so different today, Nico. Better than ever. Back then…people didn’t understand. It’s hard to say what your family would’ve been like.”

Nico nods slowly, and then they both sit in silence. It’s slightly uncomfortable, Will supposes, but not anymore than the faint sting of a freshly-healed wound.

Getting stitches can hurt, but it makes the cut feel so much better.

Speaking of which…

“Your arm,” Will blurted. “The scars are fading.”

Nico glanced down at his skin, exposed by his short-sleeved gray t-shirt. “You’re right.” He looked back up at Will, revealing his gentle smile. “I almost wish they weren’t. They’ve sort of grown on me.”

Will couldn’t help smiling.

“I might have to get into another fight with a werewolf.”

He slapped him on the wrist. He just laughed. After a few seconds, he grew quiet again.

“I’m really glad, Will,” he said, almost a whisper. “I’m glad I’m living now and not then. Seriously. Even if it meant…not being able to grow up with my cousin. My family. Because I have a new family now.” He took Will’s hand again. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I really want to meet my relatives, but…” He swallowed. “Everybody here still matters the most to me.”

Will squeezed his fingers. “Especially me?”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

***

When Nico insisted on shadow-traveling them to Venice, Will demanded that they take a plane. The resulting compromise was that Nico could transport them to and from the airports, but when their flight landed, he was exhausted and agreed, for once, that they should just hail a cab.

Nico—and Will, too—had been emailing with Marco for over two months now. They explained more about their lives; he slowly grew to understand. Nico asked about his cousin; he relayed messages from him. A few times, they exchanged pictures. After the first one they sent, Marco replied that his grandfather recognized Nico right away. Will didn’t mention it, but he felt like he recognized Marco—he seemed so similar to how Nico looked about five years prior.

They reached the house in less than an hour. It was a fairly modest-looking place, though its location right against the waterfront likely increased its value. Will had always wanted a beach house—in Austin, simply going to the beach had to be an all-day affair, and he thought it’d be nice to live so close to the ocean. The sea breeze cooled the hot summer air and tousled Nico’s hair—which Will didn’t dare mention aloud, because he knew he would freak out and start patting it back down into place, ruining the lovely windblown look Will secretly adored.

Nico approached the front door, Will just a step behind him.

“Ready?” he asked, moving to stand beside him.

Nico nodded. Then he lifted his hand and pressed his finger to the doorbell.

Will knew that a few seconds later, the door would be opened, and he would have two new faces to meet, two new smiles with which he would become acquainted. For now, though, he wanted to bask in his fiancé’s—the smile of someone who was about to meet his family.

_I wish you could see how happy you look._

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be honest, I didn't proofread this one. I just didn't feel like it. I take full responsibility for any dumb word omissions or missed commas. 
> 
> I wanted to finish this weeks ago but left it sitting on my desktop needing a conclusion instead, so I apologize if the ending leaves something to be desired. I did want to continue it, but I sort of lost interest, so maybe that will be a future endeavor. 
> 
> I'm still pretty happy with how this turned out overall, though, and I really like the concept of Nico somehow getting in touch with relatives from Italy. I was wondering how Nico would be discovered online, because he doesn't seem like the type to have social media, and the idea of a wedding registry popped into my head. I know it's a little silly and probably wouldn't happen in real life, but I had fun with it. I hope you all enjoyed it :)


End file.
